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Saturday, May 31, 2014

(from http://www.thewrap.com/ucsb-victims-father-denounces-nra-guns-politicians-after-latest-shooting-rampage/)
". . . The father of a UCSB shooting victim denounced the National Rifle Association and politicians in a heartfelt plea to “stop this madness” . . . after a shooting rampage left seven dead.

A visibly distraught Richard Martinez publicly mourned the loss of his son Christopher, 20, in a heartbreaking speech at a press conference on Saturday in Santa Barbara.

“Why did Chris die?” he asked. “Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris's right to live?” he pleaded.

Twenty-two-year-old Elliot Rodger, the son of “Hunger Games” assistant director Peter Rodger, is believed to have gone on a shooting rampage in the upscale, college neighborhood of Isla Vista, near University of California, Santa Barbara on Friday night, leaving six dead in addition to himself, and many others injured.

His full statement was: “Our son Chris Martinez and six others are dead,” Martinez said. “Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don't think it will happen to your child until it does.”

“Chris was a really great kid. Ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family lost and broken.

“Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris's right to live?

“When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say, “Stop this madness!” Too many have died. We should say to ourselves, “Not one more!” . . . "

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville, TN wrote recently that (paraphrasing) the bragging of
Democrats about the number of people registered for insurance under the Affordable Care Act was like bragging about the number of mandatory registering for train rides to concentration camps in the 1940s.

Even fellow members of his own political party said the statement was ignorant, repugnant, outrageous, pathetic and hateful. Campfield later announced that he (SURPRISE!) stands by his statement. The Senator was also sponsor of a failed bill that sought to ban teaching about gay issues in public schools and shortly thereafter claimed that HIV and AIDS originated from a man having sex with a monkey and that it was nearly impossible for AIDS to be contracted through heterosexual sex.

I most certainly wish the human race my absolute BEST in the years to come but we are not going to get anywhere if we continue to elect people like this to public office and then devote airtime to their inane rantings!. . . in that order.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

I tried keeping a journal. I was reminded of the practice while reading about Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau, in particular, was a keen and scientificly-bent observer of nature. He also recorded poems, simple stanzas that became poems, political statements and simple personal events.

I began to keep my own journal and still make an occasional entry. I like the idea. I don't necessarily want to keep a diary. My life is relatively mundane (in writing, at least) and structured. It's not a terribly exciting journal. I just can't help it.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Vermont Legislature recently passed resolutions to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. . . you know. . . that's the one that gave birth to the Super PAC. Five Vermont Republicans actually voted in favor. IT says that the government should have the right to regulate corporate spending on elections and that the Supreme Courts ruling was based upon a faulty legal precedent when it equated campaign financing to free speech. The population of the state gathered at 65 town meetings in one day demanding a constitutional amendment. The resolution also states that corporations ARE NOT persons. Similar resolutions have been passed in over 100 cities in the U.S. while 20 more have introduced resolutions.

"Contrary to popular belief, there most certainly is an 'I' in 'team.' It is the same 'I' that appears three times in 'responsibility.'" Amber Harding

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." Andrew Carnegie

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Author Unknown
(from http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Team_Building_and_Teamwork_Quotes)

Dot On Your Door
by John P. Graboski
(Oho [Jay Graboski, David Reeve, Ray Jozwiak]
recorded at Band Bash 2014 - “You’re With the Band!”
-May 24, 2014)

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Ah . . .the discovery, the music, the gratitude, the music, the joy, the music, the honor, the music, the privilege, the music, the anticipation, the music, the planning, the music, the preparation, the music, the excitement, the music, the preparation, the music, the logistics, the music, the speculation, the music, the practice, the music, the inadequacy, the music, the regrouping, the music, the persistence, the music, the reconfirmation, the music, the rehearsal, the music, the refinement, the music, the doubt, the music, the renewal, the music, the exercise, the music, the discussion, the music, the day, the music, the wonder, the day, the music, the sunshine, the music, the hesitation, the music, the distraction, the music, the clothes, the music, the car, the music, the ride, the music, the adrenaline, the music, the assembly, the music, the camaraderie, the music, the beer, the music, the sound, the music, the arrival, the music, the socializing, the performance, the music, the execution, the music, the expression, the music, the spirit, the music, the enthusiasm, the music, the dynamics, the music, the humor, the music, the reaction, the music, the appreciation, the music, the encouragement, the music, the nourishment, the music, the praise, the music, the conclusion, the music, the breath, the music, the knock-down, the music, the reviewing, the music, the loading, the music, the afterglow, the music, the music, the music. . .

Saturday, May 24, 2014

About the time of pre-adolescence, Benjamin acquired a habit of visiting his parents' bedroom before he went to sleep, milking the opportunity to put off retiring as long as possible. It was always a light-hearted endeavor with the child purposely being as outrageous as possible by making frivolous conversation from suggestion of a 'sleepover' in his parents' bed to identifying some imaginary insect in some hidden corner of the room. The parents, as a result of these nightly encounters, took to good-naturedly calling little Benjamin "the gnat", implying the persistence of the tiny flying annoyance. "Time for bed, little gnat," they would say.

Years later, Benjamin now a fine, strapping young man, developed a not-unusual love of the game of baseball and enjoyed few things more than watching the games of the local professional franchise on television when unable to enjoy them out with friends or up-clos-and-personal-at-the-ballpark. His mother, who no one is really certain whether she is a real fan or if she is exacting a form of revenge, has also taken to enjoying baseball games on television, likewise for lack of alternative viewing opportunities. When the two are strategically positioned beside one another on a couch, Ben's Mom has a greater tendency to express an emotional reaction to a successful, as well as a disastrous one, play during the games. Benjamin, on the other hand reserves his enthusiasm for only select positive or negative developments, and frequently offers a SHUSHHHHHH or some other reprimand to his mother during or after her not infrequent outbursts.

During a recent plea to his father to otherwise occupy his mother in hopes of securing an opportunity to enjoy his baseball game alone, found himself referring to his Mom as a . . .